


Jailbird

by SwordLiger



Category: Assassin's Creed
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Boy Jacob, F/M, Heartache
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-19 07:57:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5959600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwordLiger/pseuds/SwordLiger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jacob is fresh out of jail and an old romance is beginning to reignite.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Growling lowly, you leaned against your car as he finally walked out of the prison, escorted by two officers. He gave you a happy smirk as he extended his arms out for a hug. Placing your hand on his chest you kept him arm’s length away, “Not in the mood, Frye.” The two officers shook their heads as they walked back towards the building. Walking from the passenger’s side you walked to the drivers and got in the car.

He followed you and got in the passenger’s seat, “Come on, why the sour face?” His big, round eyes begged for attention as the sun brightened their color.

“You know damn well. I am tired of your constant trouble making. Plus I hate coming to this place, makes me feel dirty.” You pouted as you tried your best to not look over to him. Feeling his eyes still locked on you, your eyes glanced from the corner. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Well I haven’t seen you in a good year. Why didn’t you visit me?” His tone hushed and the pitch of his voice lowered, he was serious in his questions.

As you slowed down to a stop at the light, a sigh left you as you made sure to place your words correctly. “Jacob.” You had to pause quickly as your words left you without warning. “I had to move on. I couldn’t wait a year and a half for you to get out.” Pursing your lips, you felt a knot of anxiety well up in your gullet. “This is your third time in a long term imprisonment. A man like that is not someone I needed at the time.”

He turned away and faced forward, silent. As you moved on with the changing of the light, he said nothing. As you neared the intersections that dictated whether you were going to your house or Evie’s, he finally spoke, “I know you don’t want much to do with me right now, but do you mind if I stay over for awhile. Evie isn’t too happy with me at the moment.” He was rather quiet, like he was trying to tell a secret in a crowded room.

“Hmm, I wonder why.” With great sarcasm you glared at him the best you could while still watching the road. “But I guess. Last thing we need is a recently released convict on the streets.” His soft chuckled assured you he wasn’t too emotionally overwhelmed.

Pulling into your driveway, he gleamed with a light that was only seen when he knew he finally out of the prison’s grasp. “Thanks. I promise I will be a good house guest.” Hopping out of the car, Jacob smirked at you flashing those signature white fangs.

Two weeks had passed since Jacob began staying with you and everyday felt like the start of a bad porn. He would try to caress your hips or nibble your ear, not to mention the nerve he had to drop some of the worse pick up lines ever created. An exasperated groan was all the response he was ever given.

“Come on, Y/N. We used to be so close.” He whined lightly as he hugged you from behind.

Pushing his arms off you shook your head, “Once upon a long time ago. Before, you know, you became a jailbird.” Chuckling you walked out of the kitchen to the living room and sat on the couch.

The smirk across his face straightened out when you mentioned his jail time. Getting up from his seat at the table, he followed you to the couch, throwing himself on the spot next to you. “Hey, we don’t need your negativity.” His devilish smirk returned as he laid his head on your lap.

You looked down, smiling back at him, instinctively running your fingers through his hair. Despite trying to keep old feelings from coming back, it seemed inevitable with him choosing to stay with you.

“You okay? You look troubled.” He gave you a concerned look.

“Yeah. Of course.”

“You are lying through your teeth. I know when something is bothering you.” Tilting his head, he inquired again, “Are you okay?”

Letting out a sigh, you nodded your head. “Just tired from a long week at work.” A weak smile got him off your back for the time being.

“Mhmm. Sure.” He laid there silently as you two let the TV run in the background, neither of you really paying attention to it. “So Evie finally called me yesterday.”

You were pulled from your daydreaming by his soft tone, “Oh yeah? What did she say?”

“Just wanted to know how I was adjusting. She didn’t sound mad. Tired if anything.”

“Well, it is kind of exhausting knowing your brother is in a shit hole like that.” Giving him a ‘told you so’ look, you took this opportunity to try and drill some sense into his head.

“Well, it wasn’t my fault. They started it.” He pouted, crossing his arms as he thought he recalled it correctly.

“Jacob! They accidentally bumped into you and you flipped. Then when they went to defend themselves, you pulled a knife! Add to it your were drunk in public.” His silence let you know of this quick victory.

He turned to face you once you stopped running your fingers through his hair. Those big brown eyes asking you to keep going, he was clearly relaxing with the action. “What does that feel good?”

“It always has.” He lifted his hand; his thumb caressed your cheek softly. He lightly wrapped his hand around your head and pulled you down slowly and with little force, giving you the option to pull away.

Your heart felt as if it wanted to leap out of your chest, your throat tightened as the anticipation in you grew. You lowered your head slightly to meet his. It started off slow, your lips barely touching. His lips, were rough from the lack of proper care, but they were still so sweet. Realizing you weren’t going to pull away, he pushed himself up pressing further on you. Despite your time apart, your lips managed to fit perfectly together. He pressed a bit harder as his tongue ran across your lips playfully, begging for entrance. He surely wasn’t wasting time picking up were he thought you two left off.

He looked at you with a shocked look as you finally pulled away. He opened his mouth to speak but thought against it. Sitting up he turned towards you, “Sorry, was that a little too much so soon?” His voice was soft and quiet, indicating his sincerity.

“A little.” You almost whispered the words as your were out of breath from the tension alone. “I am gonna go to bed now.” With little more than a mere good night, you practically ran up stairs to your bedroom. You closed the door and leaned against it. ‘What was that, Y/N?’ Closing your eyes tightly, you cursed yourself for letting him back in so easily.

3:42 AM. You tiredly gazed at your clock, at this point, begging your body to settle down and sleep. But the kiss shared with Jacob seemed to awaken some long dead beast that resided in you. Despite the fact you had given up on a serious relationship with the man a long time ago, something in you kept aching to have him back. Closing your eyes, you tried in one last futile attempt to sleep. Finally you were able to get comfortable enough to feel sleep crawling onto you, but you quickly jolted awake to the sound of your door creaking open. Turning out your lamp you groaned loudly, “What the fuck, Jacob?!”

He looked at you like a deer caught in headlights. “I was just going to get the movie box you keep in the closet. I thought you were asleep.”

“Well I have been trying to fall asleep.” Your voice cracked as if you were about to breakdown.

Jacob sighed heavily, “Alright, seriously. What’s wrong?” He sat down on your bed next to you, “I know all the signs of when something is troubling you and I have seen them all today.”

Staring down at your hands, you remained quiet; with the little courage you gathered you spoke, “I fear I still have feelings for you.”

He scoffed, “That’s it?”

“What do you mean ‘that’s it’? Yes, but I don’t want them. And that’s what’s eating me up. I do love you Jacob, but this lifestyle of your’s....I can’t handle it. Do you know how hard it was to make alone the first you went to jail?” Your pained eye must have pierced him like daggers, as his expression quickly went from amused to panicked. "Had it not been for Evie, I would have been on the streets with no way to get back to my parents. What friends I do have here are asses and you know that.” At this point you were on the verge of tears, as the pain of remembering those months brought back horrible memories, “I struggled so much and when you got out you didn’t even take a chance to make things right.”

“Y/N, I.” He turned away unable to think of a simple way to make amends, “Y/N if there is anything I can do to make it up..”

Scoffing slightly you looked over to him, “Better yourself, and we’ll call it even, okay?”

He sighed loudly before throwing himself all over the bed. Groaning loudly, he laid with his face buried in the blanket and occasionally flailed his limbs as if he were a tantruming child.

Giggling softly, you poked his side. “Come on, Jacob. I know you are sad now too, but I need to force some sleep.”

He lifted his front half and looked over to you with an unreadable expression. In a flash, he pinned you down and straddled your hips, his hands pined your wrists above your head. “I can help with that.”

Heat and color rushed across your face as he smirked devilishly at you. You put up a small fight, but knew there was no overpowering him and quickly gave up.

He lowered his head to your ear and whispered in raspy, lust filled voice, “Come on, doll. I know you can do better than that.”

A knot welled in your stomach as he lowered his a bit more to your neck and lightly began to place kisses down to your collar bone. A small moan escaped you, earning a chuckle from him, as he passed over your sweet spot.

Releasing your hands, he moved his down to your sides, running them up towards your breasts, “You don’t mind do you, love?” His accent seemed thicker the more lustful he became. A simple shake of your head was his cue to keep going.

You weren’t sure how it got to this point, but you knew sleeping wasn’t going to happen now.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for spelling and grammatical errors. Proof reading is not something I do regularly.

Your eyes shot open as your alarm blared. Weakly you threw your arm onto the snooze button, silencing the annoying beeping. You groaned loudly as tired to move but were pinned down by Jacob’s arm and leg. ‘Maybe I should just call in.’ You thought to yourself as your body ached from your ‘escapades’ last night. Despite your aches and overwhelming sense of exhaustion, you pushed his arm off and crawled out of bed. Zombieing your way to the bathroom, you turned on the shower and leaned against the wall for support to hold your shaking body up. ‘I can’t even remember the last time I was this drained.’ Hanging your head low, you didn’t even notice Jacob standing in the doorway.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” His voice was hoarse and raspy from just having woken up.

Jumping slightly, you placed your hand on your chest; forcing your now rapid breathing to slow down after the little scare. “I’m okay. Just, you know, tired.” You were barely able to crack a smile as you tried to cover yourself a bit. Why you were feeling so sheepish in front of him now was a mystery to you.

Staring at you for a minute longer, he shrugged before walking out of the bathroom and laying back on the bed.

* * *

Shaking your head, you tried to keep yourself awake as you sifted through the files in front of you. It was hard enough trying to work when you were dead tired, and Jacob’s constant texts of how he wanted you to send him some pizza were no help at all. You’d tell him to go get it himself, but the judge had put strict rules on how he could live the next few months.

“Y/N!” A thundering voice shook you awake and out of your thoughts with little effort, “I asked for those cases to be done half an hour ago.”

“Sorry. I had a rough night last night.” You looked over to your boss who was almost looming over you.

“Yeah, I can tell. Just get those done quickly, I have something else I need you to do for me.” He shook his as he hustled away.

Grabbing your phone you used the camera as a mirror to see your neck a little more than red, “Goddammit, Jacob!” You quickly finished sorting the files before running to the bathroom to cover up Jacob’s little handy work. “How did I not notice this before coming to work?!” After the quick cover-up, you went up to your boss's office, who already had another guest yet his door was wide open. Hesitantly knocking on his door you made sure he wasn’t in the middle of something.

“Ah, Y/N. I trust you finished your task?” A simple nod changed his expression from one of stern command to upbeat golf-dad. “I’d like you to meet Doctor Rockwell, she’s the lead surgeon at Briyer United.”

“Nice to meet you.” You bowed slightly as your shook her hand. She bowed head as well, standing with more pride than even Jacob carried.

“She has an offer for you.”

“Indeed. How would you like to help me out at Briyer? We have room for more and I hear you are wanted to become an Registered Nurse?” Her voice was surprisingly overpowering despite how soft it was, perhaps it was her reputation.

“Well, yeah but I have yet to even begin school for it.”

“No worries. At Briyer we have a program that will help you excel.” She smiled and look as if she was almost hoping you’d accept.

* * *

 

Jacob shot up from laying on the couch at the sound of your car door closing. A wide smile forming across his face, “Finally!” He leaned over the back of the couch, “How was work?!” Barely giving you time to take a first step on the threshold, he barked at you happily.

“Started off shity.”

“Why?”

“Well for one, I was to tired to even think. Then your little love marks embarrassed me!” You glared at him as he placed a smug grin on his cheeky face.

Chuckling lowly he spoke, “Nice. So what else happened?”

“I got offered another job. And why are you so nosey today?” Walking away from him, you walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink.

“You try being cooped up in here all day. I’m going stir crazy.” He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. “I need to get out of here.”

“Well call Evie. She can also escort you around.” You snorted at him before walking away from him. “I’m not your only caretaker.”

Growling lowly, he glared at you. “No, but Evie said she is too busy.” He followed after you like a lost puppy begging for food.

Groaning loudly, you placed your cup on the coffee table and laid down on the sofa. “Jacob, we will do something tomorrow. I just want to relax tonight, maybe get some sleep.”

He jumped over the couch and stood over you, that devilishly handsome smirk of his, plastered across his face. “Or we could do something right now.” He almost panted the words as he seemed to think of alone time with you was a good release for his tensions.

“No. You little shit. I don’t want you to get in that habit!”

“What habit?” Licking his lips, his eyes sharpened and became animal-like in his desire. A stern glare was all it took to make him back off this time. “Fine.” He sat down next to you and began to pout about his boredom. Occasionally, he would look at you then turn his head quickly and pout even more.

“Throw your little bitch fits. It won’t change anything.” You sat up placed a seats length between you two. Sighing, you sunk into the softness of the couch, your eyes suddenly began to become heavy as you blankly stared at the TV.

Jacob slowly stood up after noticing you were passed out next to him. Shaking his head he walked outside and sat on the front steps. Sure he couldn’t leave the property, it didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy the sunset a bit. Lowering his head he focused on his hands rubbing together, thoughts of his previous actions and your words last night flooded his mind. He ran his hands over his face as he tried to process everything slowly, but to no avail.

“Well, well. I hope we have learned a good lesson this time.”

He shot his gaze up to see Evie standing in front of him. She sat down next to him on the step and looked at him with a concerned look. “Go on. Scold me like always.” He waved his hand at her and looked away, as he knew what to expect.

“No. It would be a waste of our time. Third time is not the charm in your case.” Despite her being upset, she couldn’t help but pity him. “You seriously need to grow up. We can’t baby you forever, nor do I want to. So here.” She handed him a small stack of twenties.

“What is this?” He looked at her with utter confusion.

“Money, you dunce. To help you get back in school. Trade or otherwise. And these,” She pulled out an envelope, “These are applications to scholarships and programs that help parolees get their life back in order. I want you to succeed, Jacob. Though you can’t seem to steer straight, you are still my little brother and I have to watch your back.” She smiled at him as he finally cracked a smirk since she pulled up.

“And I have yours. Just like always.” He pursed his lips as his eyes filled a bit with tears, “You have no idea how much this will help. I didn’t know how badly I hurt her until last night.”

“I assume she finally cracked?”

“What do you mean?”

“About your third day out, she called me and spilled how she thought she still had feelings for you but that pain of you going away was still with her. You would not believe how much it destroyed her. I know she is strong but she had not an ounce of fight when you first went to jail.” Evie shook her head at the memories. “She loved you so much and you only thought of yourself.”

“I know. But I think with your gift, it will help make things better.” He turned forward before speaking again, “I know they will never be right but this will at least help.”

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she nodded at him, “Well. I just came to check on you. I’ll see you later.” With a quick goodbye, she was gone and Jacob was alone with his thoughts once more.

Standing up, he walked back inside and placed the money in his wallet and the put the envelope on the table. Sneaking a peek over the couch, he saw you still out like a light. ‘She must have more exhausted then I thought.’ Chuckling he decided it would be best for you to go to your room. He gently slid his arm under your knees and the other under your shoulders. Effortlessly, he began to carry you bridal style up the stairs.

The small bounces of each step caused you to wake up slightly. Your eyes slowly opened to see Jacob carrying you somewhere. He didn’t seem to notice that you had awakened and you decided to leave it that way. Closing your eyes again, you leaned your head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

Luckily for him, your door was slightly ajar and allowed him to lightly kick it open. Walking to the left side of your bed, he set you down gently. He lightly ran his hand over your cheek, “I really am sorry. I wish I could change what I did.”

After he left the room, you opened your eyes; confusion flooded your mind as his words made no sense to you at the moment. ‘He can’t still be upset over last night. Can he?’ Deciding to give it some time before you rushed down after him, you stared up at the ceiling, questioning what had gotten into him.

Jacob was sitting at the table, the quiet sounds of music playing in the background. For once he wasn’t glued to the couch, complaining about his boredom. He glanced up at the sound of the stairs creaking, “Hey, feeling better?”

You nodded before joining him at the table. Seeing all the different papers on the table, you couldn’t help but get a little curious, “What are all theses?”

Sighing he spoke quietly, “Just some things Evie said would help me get back on my own two feet.” He leaned back, rubbing his face and sighing heavily.

“Seems like you are the one in need of sleep.”

He chuckled lowly, “Maybe a little.” Grabbing his hand, you tried to pull him out of the chair, but he anchored himself down. “Y/N. Do you think,” His eyes kept forward as he spoke, his body almost looked as it was trembling. “Do you think there is any hope for us? Like for what we once had? I know I wasn’t the best but I want to show you that I can be what you hoped for.”

After he raised his head, you could tell by the distress in his eyes that this had been eating away at him ravenously. Was this what he was referring to in your room? Did Evie say something to snap something in his head? A million questions flooded your mind but rang above all, ‘Would you be willing to take that risk with him again?’ There was no doubt you still had feelings for him, but you didn’t know if you wanted to act on them or not. You must have zoned out for a minute or two as he called out to you, grabbing your attention. “Honestly, I think it is still too soon to tell.”

Dropping his shoulders, he let out a long breath. It was hard to tell if he was relieved or upset, but he didn’t seem as tense.

You guessed an answer like that is better than a straight up no. It gave him a sliver of hope.

Three months had passed since Jacob’s release and it was time for some of his restrictions to be removed. This was the time of action, he had to prove himself to Evie and yourself. He had been well under control trapped in your apartment, but there was no telling how he would act with the ability to leave the house without an escort. Both of you could only pray that he would keep his head on straight.

“Guess who is one step closer to total freedom?” He pranced out of the courtroom with a ridiculously big smile.

“Don’t get too excited, you still have seven more months until you get out of your parolee program.” Quickly, you killed his mood. He lightly pushed your head down, earning a chuckle from Evie.

“She’s right though, you still have to be good. Less you want to go back in there.” Evie gestured to the jail house right down the street.

“Don’t worry Eves. I think I have the right kind of motivation this time.” He glanced at you for a split second, his gaze with lustful and charming.

Sure, you denied his advance for a relationship, but that didn’t stop you two from having a more physical ‘friendship’. Which is what he might have panned for his own little celebration, but you didn’t want to assume anything just yet.

You returned home after lunch with Evie, which was agonizing since Jacob thought it would be a good time to rub your inner thighs. It drove you almost to your wits end as he teased you, but you had no doubt that he was teasing himself as much as he teased you. “Was that really necessary? When Evie is with us no less.”

“Come on, we didn’t get caught. Plus I didn’t hear you complaining.” Emphasizing his tone on ‘hear’, he chuckled as he sank himself into the couch.

“You little shit. It was not amusing by the way.”

“It was supposed to be pleasing not amusing, doll.” The thickening of his accent and flaring his fangs were the biggest indicators of what he was wanting from you, as if the thigh massaging wasn’t.


	3. Chapter 3

One more month. You were shocked in all honesty. He was behaving and actually working while going to school part time. Oh how you wished this Jacob had been around years ago. Sighing, you sat back on the couch staring blankly at the tv. Jacob decided to spend the week with Evie and truth be told, you missed his company. 

 _Buzz. Buzz._  
Your phone went off pulling you out of your daze. It was a message from, lo and behold, Jacob. You smiled as you read the message. ‘ _Y/N, be ready in like 20 mins! I want to take you somewhere_ ’ You sat for a second, a bit confused. He never really planned surprises since you didn’t let him drive your car. Quickly shaking off the confusion, you climbed the stairs and sifted through your closet, picking your black and white summer dress with black flats.

You were about finished fixing your hair when the sound of the front door shutting caught your attention.

“Y/N?” Jacob called out as the house was dead silent.

“Up here!” You called back. Running to your closet, you grabbed a small backpack to store your things in. As you waltzed downstairs, you could hear Jacob speaking softly. "Jacob?”

He abruptly stopped as he heard you call to him, “Yeah?” He checked over you once with an all too interested look. “Now don’t we look adorable.” His statement caused you to blush, “Mind if this once I drive?” Much like a dog, he tilted his head and forced his puppy eyes on you.

A groan escaped you as you hesitated, “I guess? Just try to get me home in one piece.”

He swiped the keys from you excitedly, “I’ll try my best.” He grabbed your hand and led you outside to the driveway. “I hope you wore comfy shoes.”

“Why? I swear if you take me to another one of those-”

“No, no. I learned my lesson on that.” He chuckled as the two of you got into the car.

* * *

The wind blew against your face, the air was cool but not cold enough to even call for a light jacket. The clouds filled a good portion of the sky and did a good job of hiding the sun. Add to it that you two were driving through somewhat rural roads, meaning the sounds of a hectic city were almost nothing. No doubt a most perfect fall day. You inhaled deeply, jolting as a familiar scent hit your nose. A bit frantically, you searched your memory to place the scent. “I know that smell.”

Jacob smiled softly, “I hoped you’d remember it. Any ideas of where we are heading now?” 

You thought as hard as you possibly could. As you heard the sounds of shouts and corny music, your memory kicked in full swing. The Old Town Carnival. “Jacob...” You almost whispered as a flood of emotions and fond old memories rushed over you. “Are we really going?”

He merely nodded, “Are you happy or should I turn around?”

“No! I mean this is,” Pausing to collect your words, you grabbed his hand, resting on the center arm rest, and intertwined your fingers with his. “Just, why?”

“Well I figured we could start over. Give what we had another chance. And what better way than to go to the place we had our first date?” He pulled your hand up to his face and kissed your knuckles before letting go to turn into the parking lot.

After finding a parking spot, he hopped out of the car and ran over to the other side to open your door. “Wow, Jacob. What has come over you?” You chuckled softly as you stepped out and grabbed his hand.

“Eh, I have a lot of things I need to make up. Small things like this should hardly matter.” He intertwined his fingers with yours and led you to the main gate. He paid the ticket booth and got a stack of tickets.

* * *

 

The two of your rode a majority of the rides, save for the kid ones which seemed to be Jacob’s main interest. You shared plenty of deep fried foods and sugar drenched sweets. Oh the mixture was not going to sit well with either of you but it mattered so little as you two continued to walk around. He offered to try and win you prizes, and he failed most of the time but to you it was the thought that counted.

“How about we try this game?” You pulled him over to the stand with the rubber ducks in a small pool. The attendant explained that the more points you racked up, the better the prize. “No skill needed. Just pick a duck. Shall I go first?” Jacob nodded as you pulled out your tickets and handed five over. After picking three ducks, you totaled eight points only earning you a hand sized plush. 

Jacob chuckled, “I see where they get you with this one.” Jacob declined the attendants offer to try. “No thanks. I think she is happy with that one.” He laughed as he kept a grip on the few other prizes he had won. 

The sun began to set, turning the sky into a mass of different colors. Jacob suggested that you two head home before you blew away more money. “Come on, Jacob. One more ride?” You begged him with your best puppy eyes. A defeated sigh was his response, along with a soft smile and nod. 

“Which one did you want to ride?” His gaze followed your finger as it pointed to the Ferris Wheel. “Alright.” After purchasing the tickets, you two stood in line which was still long, as it always was. “You know, in all the times we have come here, we never got on this one.”

“The line was always too much of a wait. And we always had to be up early the next day.”

Nodding his head, Jacob looked up to the Ferris Wheel. “Do they stop it at the top?”

“Yeah. That’s why it is such a long wait, they let you enjoy the view a bit.” You glowed with excitement as you two inched closer and closer.

Finally your turn to get on the Ferris wheel, and you almost jumped from the gate to your seat. Jacob chuckled as he followed you and closed the first half of the lock, letting the attendant do the rest. He threw his arm around your shoulders as the wheel moved slowly, letting people off and letting more on. It seemed a bit slow, but neither of you seemed to mind.

“Looks like we got on just in time.” You gestured to the horizon; the sun was almost completely hidden by the time you got high enough to get a better vantage point. 

The sky was painted with shades of pink, magenta, orange, and a hint of gold. “This is why I wanted to come up here. Nothing better than an eagles view of the world.” You spoke softly to not disrupt the almost complete serenity, which was being disrupted by the cranking of the machines gears.

“It’s not bad at all.” Jacob spoke with a different tone causing you to look over to him. Without much hesitation, or warning for that matter, he grabbed your chin and gently placed his lips on yours. The sudden kiss hitched your breath and caused your cheeks to flush red. It took you a couple of seconds to react, before your face relaxed and returned the kiss. Your lips glided along his, your tongue ever-so subtly dragging across his lower lip. You could feel his mouth curve upward into a smile, as he gave a small nip to your bottom lip. He pulled away, too soon in your opinion, giving you a smug smile, “My, you look so gorgeous in this lighting.”

* * *

 

Returning home, you placed the few prizes you had won on the table and kicked off your shoes. You didn’t even realize you were this tired until you knew you could relax for good. Jacob had already plopped himself on the couch, his eyes closed as he took a moment to really sink into the sofa.

“Happy to be home?” You leaned over to back of the sofa and stared down at him.

Opening his eyes slowly, he nodded. “Yeah. Evie and I were out all morning and then you and I were out there all afternoon. I am gonna sleep really good tonight.” Slowly, he closed his eyes and placed an arm under his head for a pillow.

You laid on the other side of the couch and turned the TV on. You put it on the Cooking Channel as it was the only channel with something even remotely interesting on, “So, Jacob. I have to go on a small trip for work. I’m going to be gone about four days.”

“Do I need to stay with Evie?” He didn’t even budge as he groggily spoke.

“If you want, but you are more than welcome to stay here.” Turning your head, you looked over to him, a bit unsure if he was actually falling asleep or just quite relaxed. 

“I think I’ll stay here. More privacy.” His cheek rose as a smile crossed his face. “Get to walk around naked? Yeah, like I am gonna pass up that opportunity.” Chuckling, he finally moved his head to get a glimpse of your reaction.

With the most unamused look, you peered at him. “No. Last thing I need is your nude all over my sofa and house in general.”

“You can’t stop me, you are going to be gone.”

Slapping him with a throw pillow, you made your point clear that he needed to at least wear undergarments. He agreed to your terms without much of a fight.

* * *

 

Cracking your eyes open, you blinked repeatedly to help your eyes adjust to the light in the room. You checked your phone, _3:12AM._ You looked over to see Jacob still sleeping like a baby. Not wanting to disturb him, you threw a small blanket over him, turned off the TV and headed up to your room. Instead of sleeping, you began to pack for the trip. As you folded in a few tops, an eerie sensation washed over you. Your instincts roared at you that something was about to go horribly wrong.

Brushing off the feeling the best you could, you hastily finished packing and laid down. You tossed and turned for an hour or so. Sleep was being driven off by the uneasy feeling. ‘Perhaps I am just nervous of leaving Jacob home alone for so long.’ Nodding at the thought, you decided that was the cause and closed your eyes.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before the feeling of your bed sinking behind you, woke you.  Turning in time to see Jacob settling himself down, you noticed he froze as you leered angrily at him.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He spoke with a delicate voice, as though he was determined to make sure you feel back to sleep easily. He quickly settled under the comforter and brushed a few strands of hair from your face.

You curled up next to him, pressing your face into his chest. Though you couldn’t explain it, you just had an overwhelming feeling to get close to him now. Hugging his chest, you got as close to him as your bodies would allow.

“Are you alright, Y/N? You are never this clingy.” Jacob petted your head as you made yourself at home in his arms. After assuring him that nothing was wrong, he gave you a light head kiss before continuing to pet your hair as you both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

It was now day three of your four day business trip and honestly, you were so ready to go home. You missed Jacob, Evie and your own room. Mostly your own room.

As you rested on the bed, you flipped through the limited channels of the hotel’s cable. You and Jacob texted everyday, almost constantly, but today he hadn’t even said hello. Admittingly you were a bit worried but figured he was just sleeping in today. _Buzz. Buzz_. Hastily you grabbed your phone, a message from Evie? This was unexpected. She knew you were out of town. 

As you read the message, you felt multiple waves of confusion rush over you. ‘ _Call me. It’s urgent._ ’ You quickly dialed her number, your heartbeat raced in your ears as time slowed to a crawl. All of the possibilities trampled your mind as the phone rang twice.

“Y/N.” Evie sounded tired and upset. Her breathing staggered like she had been crying or exercising. You doubted it was the latter.

“Evie, what’s wrong?” Your voice shook as you tried to prepare yourself for whatever she was going to say.

A deep sigh made its way to your ear, her breathing steadied as she gathered her words. “Jacob got arrested again.”

Every muscle in your body tensed, your heart and lungs felt like they were going to implode. “W-what?” You couldn’t process the words, no matter how many time they repeated in your head.

“I don’t know what happened exactly. He isn’t talking to me.” She paused still obviously having a hard time breaking the new to you, “If you can, it would helpful for you to come home today.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

* * *

 

Luckily your boss let you leave early so you could tend to this situation. Anxiously, you waited for the plane to take off. It was only going to be an hour flight but it was going to feel so much longer. ‘What happened? He was doing excellent. He would have lapsed sooner.’ Closing your eye, you tried to silence the thoughts.

As expected the flight felt like it took a millennium, your legs felt like they were chained to anchors as you dredged your way through the airport. Evie was waiting for you at the gate of your flight. “Evie. Any luck?”

She shook her head. “He won’t tell me what happened. He just kept saying he needed to talk to you.” 

“I knew I shouldn’t have gone.”

Placing a hand on your shoulder, she looked at you with soft eyes, “Hey, it’s not your fault. Plus you won’t be around to babysit him constantly.” Evie was right, but you still felt like some of the blame was going to fall on you. 

After a quite long drive from the airport, you arrived at the steps of the county jail again. “I hoped I would never have to walk or even see these steps again.” The two of you scaled the steps causing you physical pain from just touching them. You went through the security checkpoint before being led to a room where inmates could talk to visitors. You sat in the chair and picked up the phone.

An officer walked into a small room on the other side of the glass, Jacob followed him clothed in the grey prison scrubs. After being uncuffed, Jacob sat across from you, took a deep breath then grabbed the phone. “Y/N.” He lowed his head before speaking again. “I’m so sorry.” You barely budged as he seemed to be on the verge of tears. “I don’t know what to say to you. You expected so much better of me.”

“Why don’t we start with this: Why the fuck are you back in here?” You couldn’t hold your tongue as you seethed with anger and disappointment.

Cracking a smile he tried to make you calm down a bit, “Long story short-”

“No. I need to know the whole story. I need to know why you can’t stay out of this place if not for yourself then for me and Evie!”

A heavy sigh left him as he lowered his head, “Last night, I figured I would go out. I was going to just food initially but ended up at the bar. I had  a few drinks and kept to myself. Some of your old ‘friends’ must have recognized me though.”

“Jacob, what the hell? You are still on probation.”

“I know! I know. I just thought I could get one or two and get out without much trouble. But my new ‘buddies’ decided to start some shit. I know I should have just walked away, but they said things about you. Graphic, sexual things that I couldn’t let them get away with.” His face molded from one of submission to pure anger. In all honesty, it unnerved you a bit. “Then one made a comment that..” He trailed off as he didn’t even want to repeat what the man said.

The anger within you dissipated slightly as you pieced together what had actually gone down. “I respect what you did to protect my honor, but Jacob, they were just words. I doubt with you around-”

Swiftly he cut you off as he looked up, “He said he would make sure I wouldn’t get in the way, he was saying terrible, horrific things. And the thought of losing you that way scared me more than losing you this way.” He stared at you a bit longer, “If you want nothing more to do with me because I ended up here again, fine. But I know I am in here this time because some jackass needed and I mean _needed_ to be put in his place.”

You pursed your lips as he had a valid point but for some reason you couldn’t let it go. “I don’t know how I will feel about this after your time is done. Right now, I am upset that you went drinking. Not so much that you beat a man, but that you violated the only condition of your parole.” You bowed your head, “Again, I will not come visit you in this god awful place. I will keep in touch, but seeing you will not be something I can do.”

As he went to speak again the guard called out claiming Jacob’s time was up. Jacob looked at you one last time, “Y/N, I hope things will be better next time we see each other. Know that I will always love and cherish you.” A faint smile crossed his face.

“I love you too, Jacob. But I should have known better.” With a weak smile you placed the phone on the hanger and stood up. You walked away, your chest began to physically hurt from the pain it was beginning to feel. 

Evie sat in the waiting room and looked at you with sorrowful eyes. “I take it, it went differently than you expected?”

“Much. But I can’t dwell on it this time.”

“Are you mad at him?”

“Kind of. But I am glad he cared enough to stand up for me like that.” As you two walked out the door Evie paused at the top of the stairs. “What is it?”

“This.” She pulled out a small box, it obviously contained jewelry of a sort judging by the shape and logo on it. “He was planning to give you this when you got back. I asked me to give it to you. He told me he was originally going to propose but figure now you wouldn’t see that as an option since he is back in here. Jacob said to keep it to remember what you two had these past few months and that you would remember him as that Jacob, not this jailbird Jacob.” She placed her hands in the pockets of her hoodie and walked down the stairs.

You opened the box to reveal a silver band with a small black and blue opal surrounded by small diamonds. Clutching the box tightly, you fought back tears. Was it joy or betrayal that washed over you at the sight of the small stone? You couldn’t say for sure, but you knew that you honor his one hope and remember the Jacob who constantly bugged you to take him to the bank to deposit his check, who would wake you up at three in the morning because he had to tell you a joke and the Jacob who kissed you on a Ferris wheel under the most stunning sunset you had ever seen. You removed the ring from the box and noticed a tiny engraving on the band  _‘For the one I love and will protect.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this little series! :D


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